Democratic Illinois Gubernatorial Candidate Chris Kennedy, who served as Chairman of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees from 2009 to 2015, believes in “the power of higher education to save our economy.” Kennedy was the first in the 2018 SOAR Meet the Candidates Speaker Series, addressing nearly 150 members, neighbors and friends on Monday, January 8, at the Sheraton Grand Chicago. “Universities—and Illinois has great public universities—are the foundation for perpetual job creation,” he said, “and that is what will keep our children and grandchildren near to us.” As an example, he introduced his daughter, Katie, the oldest of four, a student at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and a Streeterville resident. But Kennedy didn’t only focus on higher education, citing a need to support public high schools throughout the State. “Some 75 percent of Illinois high school students need remedial education before going to a community college.”

Following his presentation, Kennedy fielded a number of questions ably coordinated by NBC/Channel 5 Reporter Charlie Wojciechowski, a Streeterville resident and 2017 SOAR Positively Invaluable Volunteer (P.I.V.) award-winner. Among his responses, he was optimistic about the possibility of an Illinois Governor working well with the Legislature: “Compromise isn’t surrender,” he observed. Backing term limits in the State, Kennedy pointed out that officials who have been in office “forever” are the reason why other officials regularly come and go, discouraging public service by younger citizens. Kennedy defended his position that Mayor Rahm Emanuel and other City officials are engaged in “strategic gentrification” that is resulting in the “irrefutable statistics” of Black residents leaving Chicago. Whether by the “sin of commission or omission,” Kennedy cited an “overlay of increasing crime, closing high schools, not investing in affordable housing, closing mental health clinics and discouraging licenses for grocery stores and pharmacies in Black neighborhoods.” In a final question regarding arts education and the role of the arts in economic development, Kennedy revealed his particular interest in contemporary art, which “demands that we take the time to see new angles. By embracing the arts, we find ways to solve problems and find comfort,” he said. For more about Chris Kennedy go to www.kennedyforillinois.com